Spruce Creek

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS — Moments after storming the diamond, dousing senior pitching ace Brandon Neely with water, dogpiling on the left side of the infield and chanting and bouncing inside the visitor's dugout, Spruce Creek posed for celebratory pictures in relative silence. The Hawks' message, though, was loud and clear. Each player held up two fingers — "two more," the number of wins still needed to capture the program's second state championship.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS – Lake Brantley junior Evan Griffis could not take his eyes off the ball Wednesday night, even after it left his bat for the final time in the bottom of the sixth inning to put an early end to a Class 7A regional baseball semifinal. Griffis took a moment to marvel at the 3-run blast toward the wall in left field before rounding the bases and celebrating a 12-1 run-rule win vs. visiting Hagerty (16-12) alongside teammates at home plate.

Chris Hopkins waited as long as possible to turn in his lineup card, roughly 15 minutes before the scheduled first pitch of Friday's Region 2-6A quarterfinal baseball bout with Harmony. That was just enough time for New Smyrna Beach ace Liam Garvey to prove his left ankle could hold up in a pre-game bullpen session. Earlier in the week, the senior right-hander tweaked it during an intrasquad scrimmage.

Seven Volusia-Flagler softball teams start their quest for championship glory this week — and one for pure perfection. University survived the entire regular season without a loss and stands the best chance of bringing home the first state softball title in area history. The Titans (22-0) ended the year at No.